Martin Collins, creator of the Polytrack artificial surface, said the surface has encountered some problems in North America, but it's still much better than American dirt tracks, which tend to be inconsistent.

Churchill Downs Inc.'s Arlington Park apparently is poised to announce that it has chosen Polytrack for its new synthetic surface, preparations for which already are well underway at the Chicago-area track.

Turfway Park began installing the final layer of its innovative Polytrack racing surface Monday morning, the last step in the Installation of the unique material at the Northern Kentucky Thoroughbred track. The entire project is about three weeks ahead of schedule and is expected to be finished by July 15.